Finding Axel
by Chocolateoholic13
Summary: Oneshot. What happens when our hero and his Nobody find out it's possible the Organization members regained their hearts? Well read and find out.


Finding Axel...

A/N: Ok, some of you guys are gonna read this and go: "What the heck? How can the Organization members be Somebodies again?" But I promise you, I didn't just make the idea up randomly. I use to get on the forums at , and it was there that I stumbled upon this idea. Basically, it was saying that when the heartless and the Nobody of the same person are destroyed (in that order and probably by the Keyblade more then anything else), their Somebody comes back. I don't know all the details, or if its even based on any kinda fact. But speculation or not, it seemed like a cool fanfic idea.

Disclaimer:...yeah, you guys know the drill

* * *

Ever since Sora's endeavors with Organization XIII, he seemed truly concerned about the fate its members were suffering. Did they get to return to Kingdom Hearts, or did their lack of hearts prevent that? Was there a special place out there for people with out hearts? Were they even remembered since they didn't technically exist?

He wasn't sure why these questions kept playing over in his mind. It had been his job to eliminate anyone who tried to mess with Kingdom Hearts. The Organization had surely fit into that category. That still didn't explain why he felt a pinch of guilt whenever one of them was mentioned. His only explanation was Roxas.

Riku had filled Sora in with the, "He's your Nobody. He's a part of you, and now you guys are whole," concept. This still didn't prepare Sora for the shock of having "someone else's" thoughts.

* * *

Things had returned to normal, and Kingdom Hearts was safe. So what did that mean for our favorite hero? It meant what every kid despised…school.

He had been sitting in math class minding his own business when the teacher had interrupted his peaceful atmosphere with a question.

"Ummmm…" Sora stared at the board. _It's gibberish,_ he thought. _The slope of the line? What does that even mean? What was that formula she was telling us about? Y=mx+…something. Dang it. Was that even the right formula for this topic?_

"**It's 3."**

"Huh?" Sora said, jumping a little in his seat.

"**The answer, it's 3."**

"Um…3?" Sora guessed, unsure where that answer had even come from. He had a bad feeling it was all in his head, and not in the 'I'm just imagining it' kinda way.

"Very good," the teacher praised with a slightly surprised expression. "Now for the y-intercept."

Sora looked around waiting and hoping for someone to smile and whisper. "Sorry, I was just trying to help you out." But it was to no avail. The only person who had their full attention on him was a certain redhead.

Kairi was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. She, like him, couldn't fathom how he had come up with an answer-the _right _answer. Before she even had a chance to ask, he shrugged and shook his head. He'd have to explain after class.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Kairi, it was weird," Sora fussed. "I came up with the answer off the top of my head. It was almost like someone was telling me what it was...from inside my head." They had finally made it to the stairs of the school building, and they were waiting for Riku so they could head home.

"I think you're imagining things," Kairi rationed. "You must have studied harder than you thought. Maybe you need more sleep."

"That's not it," Sora mumbled. He knew how ridiculous it sounded, but the thought hadn't seemed like his own. Crazier things had happened, so why was getting someone else's thoughts such a nutty idea?

"Guys!" Riku shouted, running down the stairs. He skidded to a halt in front of them, lowering his tone before he spoke again. "The King is here."

"Huh! Where!" Sora asked eagerly. He heard Kairi giggle at him, but he ignored it. He supposed he was a little overexcited, seeing as it had only been about a week since they had been home, but he didn't care. If the King was here, it had to be something important.

"Follow me," Riku said, gesturing them back into the school. He broke out into a run, proving he was just as excited as Sora, and once again Kairi laughed.

They followed Riku to the back of the school and into the computer lab. He made a beeline for the furthest machine in the room, and jabbed his finger into the monitor's power button. When the screen flickered on, there was the King in all his big-eared glory.

"Your Majesty!" Sora yelled, jumping with anticipation. "Are the heartless back?"

"Sorry, Sora," The King answered, suppressing a laugh. "Everything is calm for now."

Sora stepped back. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He loved that his life was normal now, but after years of excitement, he felt bored. The Keyblade hadn't shown up in days, which was a good sign, but he hadn't expected to miss it so much.

"Ok...so what's up?" Sora asked.

"We have new data about Nobodies and heartless, their beings, and the return to their predecessors," Mickey explained casually.

"Huh?" Sora said, utterly confused.

Mickey went more in-depth with his newfound knowledge. "Heartless and Nobodies may have a way to return to who they were before they lost their hearts and bodies."

"Oh, really?" Something inside him flared. Maybe this was the answer to his question. He might finally find out what happened to…

"**My friends…"**

"Friends?" Sora whispered. There it was again. In his thoughts, but not _his_ thought.

"**Axel…"**

"So, is it actually possible?" Kairi questioned, snapping Sora back into the situation.

"Well, you see," Mickey began, "Ansem the Wise had done some secret investigating when he discovered the fate of his apprentices. When his last apprentice, Ienzo, fell into darkness, Ansem captured and destroyed his heartless. Riku, I believe you know Ienzo as Zexion."

Riku winced at the memory. "Yeah…right."

"Well, after you defeated him, he faded, of course. Ansem, however, wasn't so sure." The King continued. "Ienzo had been spotted in what is now Radiant Gardens." (A/N: Yes, I made this up.)

Sora wasn't sure he understood. "How can that be, Your Majesty?"

"Well, upon further research, Ansem found that when the heart from a person's heartless and the body and soul from the Nobody is released...they merge together again." Mickey paused. "I'm not sure how this merging occurs. We have found Ansem's old notes on the topic, and we're trying to figure it out now."

"**Axel!"**

"What is that?" Sora grumbled.

"Sora?" Riku asked cautiously. "Are you ok? You look kinda spacey."

"Huh? Yeah," Sora said, barely aware of the conversation anymore. He wasn't sure what was going on. It was almost as if he cared about the fates of the Organization members. Well, some of them, anyway.

"**We have to find him!"**

_Ok…that's it, _Sora thought angrily. _Where did that come from? Who are you?_

"**Sora, its me. Roxas! Who else would it be?"**

_What? _Even after everything that had happed to him, he had not expected this. How could he have?

He felt a mental sigh from the back of his mind.** "Riku explained this to you. We're whole. One. Together. You're the exact same person you always were. The only difference is we share thoughts."**

…_ok. I guess I understand that._

"**Sora, **_**please**_**. We have to find Axel."**

"Um, King Mickey?" Sora decided he might as well find out if Mickey knew anything. Roxas's thoughts felt like they were one with his own, so he suddenly felt a strong desire to get some answers. "Do you know how many Organization members are back?"

"Not yet," Mickey confirmed. "It depends on whose heartlesses were destroyed before they faded."

"Riku, Kairi…this is going to sound weird, but we have to find Axel," Sora said quickly. Upon receiving an answer from King Mickey, he spoke almost without realizing it.

"_What_? Why?" Riku interrogated.

"_Please_, Riku! I've got to see him!" Sora, or in this case Roxas, said.

Riku stared at him for a few seconds, his expression changing slowly from utter confusion to a look of somewhat-understanding. "Ok." His tone was a bit reluctant, and Kairi threw him a baffled look. He just shook his head and turned back to Sora. "But where would we even look? We don't know where is, or where he came from."

"**Radiant Gardens."**

"He lived in Radiant Gardens**." **Sora repeated, earning another strange look from everyone in the room, including one through the computer screen. "He…uh, told me, I guess."

There was another understanding gaze from Riku, and a befuddled look from Kairi. "Your Majesty," Riku sighed. "Can you get us a gummi ship?"

* * *

"Why are we doing this?" Kairi asked again once they had boarded the gummi ship. The boys had clearly neglected to fill her in, and she was starting to realize she wasn't going to get a reason without asking.

"Because," Riku said bluntly.

"Yeah, that explains it," she grumbled. She glanced around at Sora, trying to get his attention. It was a useless effort; he was completely lost in thought. If only she could see what was going on inside his head.

"**What if he's not there?"**

_We'll figure it out. _Sora was still having trouble getting use to the double thoughts. It was like talking to himself, or in this case, thinking to himself through conversation. _If not, then maybe his heartless is still out there._

"**I wonder what he's like now."**

_Probably the same...why would he change?_

"**No heart, remember? That's the only way I've ever known him."**

_Well, if you've been with me since I woke up, then you heard him. You, and me I guess...we made him feel like he had a heart. He's your best friend, right? No worries._

"**Yeah, I guess you're right. When you see him, tell him miss him."**

_Aww, Roxas you're not going all sappy are you? That's my thing._

"**Shut up!"**

_We'll both tell him. We're the same person, right? So it'll mean the same thing._

"**Right. I'm keeping my finger crossed. Well, theoretically."**

"Sora, we're here." Riku said, snapping Sora out of his "thought conversation" with Roxas.

"That was fast," Sora mumbled. "Lets get moving."

And so the searching began. Sora had been here so many times, he thought he had these streets memorized. He was apparently mistaken. This place was huge. The castle construction was completed, the houses had been rebuilt, and the population was back. This was going to be harder than they'd thought.

"Sora, this isn't working," Kairi groaned after an hour of walking the streets. "He could be anywhere...if he _is_ anywhere."

"I know, but I don't know what else to do," Sora said, frustrated.

"We'll find him, Sora. I promise," Riku counseled. "Let's just keep walking." Sora was surprised at how cooperative and helpful Riku was being through all this. It wasn't like him to take hours of his time to find someone who was previously an enemy.

"Do you guys hear that?" Kairi asked, looking around at the apartments surrounding them. "Sounds like a guitar."

"Really?" Sora inquired. Then he heard it too. _That sounds familiar. It sounds like a—_

"**Sitar! It's Demyx! He made it back!"**

"Heh, so he did," Sora muttered. Somehow, he just knew it _had _to be Demyx.

"Who did what?" Riku raise an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just thinkin out loud." Sora smiled, shaking his head. He'd have to learn to keep the talks with Roxas in his mind, and not send them through his mouth.

"Sora! Riku!" Kairi shouted, pointing down the street. "Look there!"

Sora glanced at her and noticed a look of slight detest on her face. He should have expected this. The two people she was staring at were the ones who had held her captive.

"**Sora! Go!"**

Sora glanced down the road, spotting the two Kairi was staring at, and his eyes met the figure of the guy they'd spent hours trying to find. He could feel his thoughts falling to the back of his mind, and he didn't stop it.

"Go for it, Roxas," Riku urged as he watch the image of his best friend change to one much blonder.

"Thanks, Riku," Roxas said, appreciative. "**Thanks, Sora" **he added.

_Don't mention it, _Sora laughed. _Now go, before you lose control._

Roxas looked around at his companions, who were both smiling at him. He noticed Kairi finally seemed to realize what was going on, but he didn't stop to think about it. He sprinted down the road at full speed, yelling the former Nobody's name.

"Axel! AXEL!" Roxas continued as he closed the distance.

"Roxas!" Axel exclaimed, utterly surprised.

"Roxas?" Saix echoed.

"Finally!" Roxas breathed a sigh of relief when he finally stopped at his destination. "We've been looking for hours."

"We?" Axel rose an eyebrow. He looked over Roxas's shoulder to see the other two people making their way towards him. "Oh, I get it."

Roxas shrugged. "Sorry, are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not," Axel assured him. "It's who you are now. We're different too. We all finally got what we wanted. Hearts."

"No more evil plotting," Saix added. Then he did something neither Roxas nor Sora had ever seen Saix do. He laughed.

Roxas smiled. "Everyone's complete. After everything the Organization did…who knew it was all that simple."

Kairi and Riku finally made it to the group, but they weren't sure if they should intrude.

Axel and Saix seemed to acknowledge the hesitation, and took into account the detest that still lingered on Kairi's face.

"Riku," Saix and Axel acknowledged. Riku just nodded at their mention of his name.

"Kairi," Axel began.

"Please, I don't wanna go there," Kairi sighed, shrugging off Axel's attempted apology. She half-smiled at her former captors in an attempt to say all is forgotten. They returned the grin, knowing that eventually all would truly be forgiven.

Perhaps to end the awkwardness, Kairi allowed her mind to fall back and be replaced by another.

"Namine?" Roxas whispered, surprised.

She smiled as she took in those around her, but restrained from saying anything. In all reality, they had held her captive too, for a lot longer than they had Kairi. This was, however, still less awkward for her than it was Kairi.

"Are you guys staying here?" Roxas asked curiously. He had to know if this was the last time they'd see each other.

"This is our home. We're not going anywhere," Axel assured him, suppressing a chuckle at Roxas's enthusiasm.

"We're just trying to continue where we left off." Saix stated. He seemed-oddly but not unwelcomingly-happy to say that.

"Well, I guess this isn't goodbye then," Roxas looked down at his feet. "Right, Axel?"

"Of course not," Axel promised. "And it's Lea now, _got it memorized_?"

"And I guess that would make me Isa," Saix added, contributing to Axe…I mean, Lea's comment.

Roxas looked at them and something occurred to him…he wasn't really _Roxas_ anymore. He could slowly feel himself slipping back just by that thought alone. "Huh, well I guess that would make me…Sora." Before the sentence was even finished Roxas was back where he started…in Sora's thoughts.

Lea stared down at the now spiky haired brunett in front of him. "Hey," Lea grinned. "Whether you're Sora or Roxas, you're still one of my best friends. You changed my whole perspective."

Sora flashed his signature smile. "Right back at you."

"Sora, it's time to go home," Riku interrupted, noting the hour via a large clock above their heads.

"Right," Sora sighed.

"You said it yourself," Lea reminded him. "This isn't goodbye."

"You're right," Sora nodded. "Not forever." He then found himself in a bone-crushing hug, which he was happy to return.

They pulled away and Sora looked up at Sa…uh, Isa. "Until next time, Sora." He held out his hand. Sora took it without so much as a second thought.

"Bye, Isa," Sora said kind of awkwardly. These new names were going to take some getting use to.

After one final goodbye, the Destiny Island trio made their way back to the gummi ship.

They would meet again.

After all, when destiny gives someone a second chance,

there's no way to forget what had always been there.

A fresh start,

old friends,

it was the perfect start to a new life.

A life that was sure to be as good as the last.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it...burn/flame as yo wish just as long as you review.


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